


Possession

by BlackRoseImmortal



Category: Revolution (TV)
Genre: Eventual Romance, Eventual Sex, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, My First Fanfic, Possession
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-12-04
Updated: 2015-04-01
Packaged: 2018-02-28 03:05:18
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 11,810
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2716565
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackRoseImmortal/pseuds/BlackRoseImmortal
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Break off from 1x10, Monroe makes Rachel believe he has killed Charlie, but really has another plan for her.</p><p>Slow-burn Charloe. Non-rape.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Prologue

**Author's Note:**

> I do not own Revolution or it's characters and this scene might be copyrighted.... oh well.

“Rachel,” He says as he walks into the room, “must be nice having both your children back.”

Rachel stands and turns away from her two children and coldly watches him as he walks over to them.

“Hello Charlotte, it’s nice to finally meet you, I’m General Monroe.” He says, intently watching her, she looks up at him, returning his gaze, her expression holding none of the fear he had expected.

It is Rachel who looks afraid, “What did you do to my son?” she asks.

“I’m completely and utterly done playing games with you Rachel,” Charlie turns and looks at her mother as Monroe says this, still unafraid her eyes are questioning.

Monroe turns and points to the strange machine across the room, “You know what that is right?”

“Amplifier.” Rachel replies.

“A real one,” Monroe states, “Your friend, Dr. Jaffe was building me a backup; that was until you shoved a screwdriver into his chest.”

“Mom?” Charlie asks.

“Oh, I’m sure there’s a lot about your mom you don’t know.” Monroe replies, he pauses, taking a shivered breath, “You’ve seen one of these pendants before, right?”

“Know what it can do?” He asks looking directly at her again, she stares back, “Well that machine amplifies it range; it makes jets fly; tanks roll and your mothers going to finish it for me.”

“Mom, what’s he talking about?”

“She’s going to be a real patriots,” Monroe turns away from Charlie, “Isn’t that right Rachel?”

“Mom? Look at me. Whatever he’s asking you to do, you can’t do it.”

“Is that so?” Monroe asks, a slight smug grin forming. He waves a hand at Strausser, who had been slightly watching the whole exchange, he pulls a gun from his waist and cocks it.

“No.” Rachel says, running in front of her children. “No, no, no, no.”

“Mrs. Matheson I’m sorry,” Strausser says as two guards pull her away, “But you need to choose which one of your children I’m going to kill.”

“You son of a bitch.”

“Listen to me,” Charlie says looking at her mother, while Strausser points the gun between her and Danny.

“Which one?” He says, “The boy or the girl.”

“I’ve seen the Militia kill dozens of people and if you help him, they will kill hundreds if not thousands Mom.”

“The boy or the girl, which one is your favourite?”

“Mom don’t,” Charlie yells, franticly shaking her head, “Some things are more important than family.”

“Choose now!”

“Pick me,” Charlie yells back, standing in front of her brother, the gun now pointed at her head.

“Alright,” Strausser replies, “Have it your way.”

“No,” Rachel begs.

“It’s okay.” Charlie says, staring at the gun.

Monroe looks on, completely captivated by the girl in front of him, lips slightly parted, his eyes never leaving her, he needs to have her, to possess her.

Just as Strausser is about to pull the trigger, Rachel cries out, “Stop! Stop, I will finish your damn amplifier, stop.”

“See, its like Miles always said, a good hostage works every time.”

Strausser smiles as Monroe continues, “But I only need one.”

“No,” Rachel screams again.

“Take the boy back to his cell, kill the girl.”

“Monroe, please don’t do it, Bas please.” 

“Don’t make a mess in here, take her outside.” He casually remarks as he begins to walk out of the room. 

“No I won’t do it, if you kill her I won’t finish it.”

Monroe turns just before he exits the room, “I’m letting you keep Danny, Rachel, don’t make me take him from you too.”

Charlie watches her mother fall apart in front of her and as calmly as she had said for Strausser to shot her says “It’s okay mum, keep Danny safe.”

Strausser grabs her by the arm and walks her to the door, “I love you Danny,” she whispers as she is taken from the room.

Freeing herself from her guards, Rachel runs to the door, she screams for Monroe to stop, banging her fists again it.

After a few moments a single gunshot is heard from outside and the knowing sound of a deadweight falling to the ground. Rachel collapses to the ground, unable to process her daughters’ death.


	2. Expectations

Charlie knows she doesn’t want to die but she knows she doesn’t want Danny to die either, her whole body feels conflicted, as Strausser drags her out the exit she begins to panic, _but its better me than Danny,_ she thinks, _just focus on saving Danny._

Monroe takes her by the arm and roughly pulls out to the middle of the courtyard, he pulls a gun out and forces her body flush against him, leaning down he whispers in her ear, “You’re incredible you know.”

He cocks the gun, but doesn’t break away from her, instead he aims away from her and shots one of his own soldiers, his body falling limply to the ground.

Before she can even react to what she has just seen, Monroe lets her go and someone forcefully yanks her head to the side exposing her neck, “No,” she whispers as a needle is once again plunged into her skin, her world begins to go dark and her vision blurs; she feels Monroe lift her up and carry to a carriage before she passes out, falling into a dreamless sleep.

xxx

When Charlie wakes, she finds herself in the first bed she has been in since leaving home, still in her drugged state she sleepily snuggles down into its warmth. For a few moments she forgets where she is and all that has happened, for a few moments she believes she is back in her childhood home, her father and Maggie are still alive, her Brother safe with her; for a few moments her world is whole.

When reality sets in, she can’t bring herself to open her eyes, _if I keeps my eyes closed maybe it can all be a horrible dream_ , and for a second she indulges this thought but that’s not who she is, at least not any more.

She opens her eyes and looks around her, she is in a large, white bedroom, filled with matching furnishings she guesses are from pre-blackout times. Her eyes fall on to a full bookshelf at the other end of the room, not a big reader even she can’t not deny the luxury of having so many books, Aaron would kill to see that many books in one place, she thinks, her thoughts dwindling on her family, _my family who think I’m dead, I needs to find a way out._

She slowly pushes herself up from the bed, her head spins and she sits on the edge for a moment before getting up again, she looks around the room again, three possible exits. Double doors which she guess lead out of the bedroom to the rest of the house, another door single door on the wall by the other side of the bed, and three large windows. 

She moves around to the other side of the bad and through the single door, it opens to a bathroom, without any windows, she moves to the windows in the bedroom and when she pulls back the net curtains and finds them all barred, she tries the doors leading to the rest of the house and finds them locked.

She turns and rests her body against the doors, leaning her head back against them she closes her eyes and lets out a frustrated groan, as she opens her eyes and spots an exit she hadn’t seen in her first evaluation of the room.

Almost running across the room she moves a small side table under the air vent in the ceiling, standing on the table she begins to pry it open, after a few minutes of trying she hears an amused chuckle from behind her, she had been so caught up in her task she hadn’t notice the opening and closing of the doors to her prison, _Miles would kill me if he knew._

Stepping down off the table, she turns and finds herself face to face with Monroe. And for the first time since waking she lets herself ponder why he has kept her alive, and why he has chosen to let her family believe she is dead; she thinks about asking him but then thinks better of it, _better to not give him the satisfaction of knowing you’re curious._

“You really think I would be thoughtless enough to leave you in a room that had a way out?” He asks, chucking again, she simple stares at him without replying, instead she thinks of ways to kill him.

“I might be lenient when it comes to Matheson’s, Charlotte, but I’m not stupid.” He smirks as he watches her; again she says nothing, instead looks around the room for a weapon, _could I knock him out using that vase?_

“While you’re my guest I expect a certain amount of respect from you,” he calmly states while he roughly grabs her chin and forces her to meet his eyes, “that includes looking at me while I’m talking to you.”

She knows she doesn’t have the strength to take him, not without a weapon, but she thinks of doing it any way, her eyes flash with defiance but before she can even act on her thoughts, Monroe speaks again, “I know how much you care about your brother and I would hate to see you suffer if he were to get hurt.”

Monroe’s voice is so casual, so indifferent, it sends shivers down her spine. “You will do as you’re told while you’re here Charlotte and this will be the last time you try to leave without my permission, do you understand?”

Again she says nothing, but she doesn’t look away, doesn’t search for weapon or a way out, Monroe takes this as the only answer he is going to get, he releases his grip on her and walks from the room, locking the door as he leaves.

xxx

Charlie looks up from her book as two women walk into her prison, carrying two buckets of water each; after a few trips back and forth from her bathroom one of them stops and looks at her, “I’m to inform you that General Monroe has asked for you to bathe and change into something suitable for dinner. You will be dinning with him tonight.”

An older lady, maybe in her late fourties, she look stern but not unfriendly, and more than anything she looked like she felt sorry for her; although Charlie hated when people pitied her, maybe this time it was warranted, she had heard of how unhinged Monroe was and had seen for herself his erratic nature. “I haven’t got anything else to wear,” she replied.

“I brought up some clothes for you after you were brought in, shall I pick out something for you?”

She nodded, “Thank you.”

“Do you need anything else? I was told you were unhurt when you arrived but…”

Charlie cut her off, “No I’m fine, thank you.”

“I leave you to bathe then,” She said and left the room, as the door closed she heard a click as it was once again locked. Charlie sighed and moving to the bathroom striped off her clothes and she slipped into the warm water.

xxx

Thinking she was going to be forced to wear something similar to what she had warn at Drexel’s, she was surprised when she saw the dress laid out on the end of the bed. Light mauve in colour, it tightly covered her breasts and bunched in under them, before falling loosely to just above her knees. Modest without being overly so and girly without being over the top, Charlie guessed it wouldn’t have been Monroe’s choice but if she had to wear a dress, this one would do.

Slipping on the light brown sandals she spotted by the foot of the bed, she walked over the door and tried it again, this time finding it unlocked. Two guards waited for her outside, one lead the way while the other followed closely behind, taking her downstairs to the dining room.

Monroe was already there when she walked in, “Good evening Charlotte,” he motioned for her to take a seat on the couch near him, “Would you like a drink?” he asked as she did.

After a few moments of silence he looked at her, “Respect includes answering me when I ask you questions Charlotte.”

“No,” she reluctantly replies.

“Very good, then shall we have dinner?”

He watched her, waiting, she stared back at him defiantly for a moment before seating herself at the table, “Of course,” a smile plastered on her face.

“Have you ever had a Tenderloin steak, Charlotte?” Monroe asked as a young man brought in their food, “I had it cooked especially, it is so rare to find good food these days.”

“Not that I remember,” she replied.

They continued like this for the course of the evening, Monroe making small talk as though she were a causal acquaintance and not his prisoner and Charlie answering as little as possible, with each question growing more and more irritated by him.

The way he spoke, his calm, controlled voice; she couldn’t comprehend why he was doing this, why he hadn’t just killed her like he said he would; it was like it was all a game that she didn’t understand or a joke she didn’t quite get.

As their plates were taken away she couldn’t hold back her confusion any more. “Why am I here?” she asked, “Why didn’t you just kill me?”

“I need you, if anything should happen to your brother, I can use you against your mother,” He watched her intently again, and she shifted uncomfortable in her seat, “you’re my backup plan.”

It didn’t explain why he had her mother thinking she was dead but she guessed it was all the answer she would get. For a moment she was lost in thought, when she looked up, he was still watching her, almost studying her reaction; suddenly she could no longer take the charade any longer, she got up from the table, “May I go?” she asked.

He nodded his head and watched her leave the room, the lie fallen so easily from his lips; he did need her, but not to control her mother, he needed to possess her, to have her for himself, and if anyone thought she was alive, they would come looking for her and he needed to make sure no one would ever take her from him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for the comments, keep them coming, hope you all enjoyed this chapter, I feel I’ve taken a lot of inspiration from other FanFic’s but let me know what you think; I'm taking this along a slower path but I want to build a relationship between them, focus on them being able to be around each other as friends before anything more and I feel like that would take time.


	3. Control

Over the next couple of weeks Charlie gradually adjusted to her new life, Monroe gave her everything she asked for, except her freedom, she was never allowed to leave the house, and whenever she left her room she was followed by her two guards; so she spent most days alone in her room. After the first couple of days Julia Neville came to visit her, Charlie had learned early on that not many people knew who she really was, most thinking she was Monroe’s whore, but Julia knew the truth and they had formed somewhat of a bond, she came most days for lunch, and would tell her about life in the capital sometimes bringing her books or art supplies. They never talked about Jason, or the fact that Charlie was Monroe’s prisoner; their friendship was light and fluffy, never scratching below what lay on the surface but it was something.

Each night she joined Monroe for dinner each night, they mostly ate in silence, Monroe having given up on the mostly one sided conversation after the first couple of nights. Sometimes they were joined by important Officers, sometimes they ate alone; once or twice she had lost it with Monroe, demanding to see her family or wanting to know why he was keeping her here, but after he had refused to answer her for the third time, she had given up on being angry at him and simply sat there fuming.

They were eating alone tonight, another luxury three course meal, foods Charlie had never even tasted, she thought of all the times she had gone hungry growing up, she thought of all those people still going hungry while they sat here eating Roast Duck with Plum Sauce and she hated him.

After she had finished Charlie looked up and stared at Monroe, waiting for permission to leave.

“Charlotte, before you go,” he stood and walked over to pour himself a drink, pouring one for her as he did. Bringing it over to her, he set it down in front of her and grabbed her chin, turning her face to look up at him, “I heard a nasty rumour today, one of my guests took a disliking to her guard, stabbed him in the neck with a fork.”

“You wouldn’t know anything about that would you Charlotte?” His voice was icy, he stared at her, his gaze was cold, fear shot through her body, she felt his fingers tighten around her chin, his nails digging in, drawing blood.

She raised herself and stared back at him, attempting to remain calm, trying to keep her fear from showing, “Don’t hurt Danny,” was all she said, she didn’t tell him about the way the guard had looked at her, about what he had said.

“We can’t have you doing it again though can we?”

“Please, I won’t do it again just don’t hurt Danny, I’ll do anything.” 

He moved forward, causing her to take a step back and hit the table, he took another step, pushing his body against hers, her blood ran cold, she shivered as he took hold of her wrists and placed her hands against the table, holding them in place. 

“Anything?” He whispered in her ear, biting at her earlobe.

It was one thing to attack a guard barely out of training but Monroe, she knew she couldn’t take him, she had no weapons and if she failed it would mean her brother’s death, so she closed her eyes and gritted her teeth, but she couldn’t stop the tears. “I’ve never,” was all she managed to get out, her fear taking over her body, not allowing her to continue.

He had been running his mouth down her neck in light kisses, savouring the taste of her skin, he paused when she said this, and pulled his face back to look at her. Her eyes were closed, he could feel her body shaking against him, see tears falling down her face, she wasn’t trying to stop him, he knew he could do what he wanted to her and she wouldn’t, she cared about her brother too much, but she didn’t want him and forcing her now would mean she never would.

For a second he had lost control of himself, he wanted this girl so much he hadn’t been thinking about her; he knew he wasn’t the man he had been when he started out, he had become cold, calculated, unpredictable, especially after Miles had left but he had never force a girl to be with him, it was part of the reason he and Miles had stated to the Republic, to restore some order, stop the raping and killing.

He still wanted her, they could both feel how much he wanted her, she was so beautiful and strong, and he knew one day he would have her, one day he would know what it was like to touch her body, to feel her skin against his, to know what she tasted like; but when he finally did, it would be on her terms, when she wanted him as much as he wanted her, when she craved his touch instead of being disgusted by it.

Turning away from her, he threw his glass across the room, shattering it on the floor. “Get out,” he yelled.

She turned and shakily crossed the room, as she reached the door he called out to her, his voice was composed again, “Charlotte, step out of line again and I’ll force you to watch while I have Danny’s back whip bare.”

Leaving the door open she fled the room.

Through the open door he could see Tom Neville, watching the girl as he waited for permission to come in. “Enter,” Monroe called, sitting down on the white leather sofa, though old and faded it was still ten times better than most in his Republic owned.

“Sir, you ask for me for a report about the guard.”

“Yes,”

“She knew the right spot to hit, he lost a lot of blood, we almost lost him but he seems to have stabilised now.” Silence filled the room filled the room for a moment before Neville continued, “And what about the boy, will he be punished for her actions?” 

“No, not this time.” Monroe replied.

“Very good, Sir,”

Silence filled the room again while Tom looked at Monroe, trying to gage his stability, unsure if he should bring up what Julia had told him.

“Spit it out, Neville.” Monroe stated impatiently, he was frustrated, he had let the girl get to him and didn’t feel like dealing with the man in front of him.

“Yes sir, my wife, she visits the girl, has lunch with her sometimes, with very little knowing she is here and even less knowing who she is, Julia thought she might like some company.” He paused for a moment, Monroe had of course approved Julia’s visits with Charlie but with the mood he was in tonight, it never hurt to be cautious, a nod from Monroe told him to go on.

“She had gone to see her today, she witnessed the incident with the girls guard Sir, he was in her rooms, taunting her, calling her your plaything and asking when it was his turn.”

Neville saw the angry that crossed Monroe’s face, “Kill the guard, and place two new guards on her,” Monroe said, “And Neville, if this happens again, it will be you I’ll be punishing.”

“Of course sir, anything else?”

“Send of one of Michelle’s girls and have her brought to my rooms,” Getting up he crossed the room and started to make his way upstairs, “make sure she’s a blonde.”

xxx

Charlie felt fragile, powerless, weak, more so now than at any point during her two weeks as his prisoner. She had made her way back to her room, and blocked the door with a chair in an attempt to feel safer. It wasn't working. She hated him for touching her, she hated that there was nothing she could do about it, and she hated herself for being so weak, for feeling so afraid.

She shakily walked to her bed, still fully clothed she crawled under the covers and tucked herself into a ball, tears freely fell as she tried not to think of the events of the day, as she tried to think of anything else. It was early dawn before she finally fell into an exhausted sleep, only to wake a couple of hours later, shaken and sweaty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've had it sitting on my laptop for a week but not been happy enough with it to publish, I'm still not 100% happy with it but let me know what you think.


	4. Marked

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it has been so long since I've updated, I don't have an excuse other than it was Christmas and New Years and there have been parties to go to and drinks to be drunk and writting has not been on my mind. But let me know what you think :D

Charlie woke shaken and sweaty, light was streaming in through a gap in her curtains, she guessed it to be early morning; she felt like she hadn’t slept at all, her body ached, when she had managed to drift off, her sleep had been broken and filled with dark dreams, watching her father die in her arms, her families faces as she had been taken away to her assumed death, Maggie slowly drifting away as she had been begging her not to leave, and finally Monroe as he forced her body against him and pinning her against the table. She closed her eyes again, trying to will the images from her mind and to fall into a peaceful sleep but a quiet tapping kept her from it.

She realised the sound had been what had first woken her, she thought about ignoring it, but the knocker was persistent. She pulled herself from her bed and went to open the door. Straight away she noticed her guards were new, they were older than the last two by a few years and they both looked more dedicated to their jobs, they actually paid attention to her when she opened the door; the knocker turned out to be another soldier, when she turned her head to look at him he cleared his throat, “General Monroe would like to see…” he was cut off as she slammed the door shut and placed the chair back under the handle. _Fuck Monroe. ___

Charlie crawled back into bed and slept on and off, never too deeply; multiple times she woke to someone attempting to get into her room, she never bothered to get up to move the chair and let them in, eventually they stopped trying. She continued like this for hours, she didn’t make any attempt to get up; she just stayed in bed curled up in a ball, not really sleeping but not really awake. 

__

xxx

Charlie awoke with a start, it was day break again, she remember finally falling into a dreamless sleep late yesterday afternoon but she still didn’t feel rested, she was however determined that today she would stop feeling sorry for herself.

She pulled herself out of bed and walked to the door, after moving the chair back to the desk she opened and found the same guards from the morning before, one of them turned his head to look at her.

“Could you please get someone to fill my bath?” she asked.

The guard nodded and began to walk off, she closed the door and walked to the draws pulling out a loose white blouse and a light pair of jeans; she stripped off her wrinkled and dirty clothes from the other night and wrapped herself in a silk gown while she waited for her bath to be filled.

The same women who had come to fill her bath on the first day arrived with a couple of young girls in tow to fill the bath, Charlie had since learned her name was Beth, she was still as kind to her as she had been the first time, in fact most of the staff treated her well, it occurred to her now that it was because they had all guessed about why Monroe had been keeping her here and either wanted to use her to get on his good side or hated her for it, lucky for her most of them were more for getting on his good side, or at least she was hoping that was the case; remember the guards venomous smirk she shivered.

She knew that Monroe would never try to touch her again, although the whole event had shaken her up more than she cared to admit, she had seen the look of disgust on his face at his actions, how quickly his anger had turned onto himself; and now that she knew why she was still alive, she was going to use it to her advantage.

“After your bath, General Monroe asks that you join him for a late breakfast,” Beth confessed emerging from her bathroom, she looked apologetic, not for the first time Charlie believe that Beth’s affection for her was genuine.

She smiled back and nodded, as she did she saw a look of disgust cross Beth’s face, “Your neck,” she exclaimed, “what happened to your neck? I know you got into a fight with your guard, did he do that to you?” she asked.

Charlie walked to the bathroom and looked in the mirror, clear finger marks were bruised into her neck from where Monroe had grabbed her, as she went to examine them she noticed her wrists were also bruised, she hated him, she hated that he had marked her; that he had imprinted himself onto her skin and that it was there for everyone to see; she felt nauseous but even more determined, he was going to pay for all that he had done to her and her family.

Beth was standing in the door way watching her, “Charlie?”

“I’m fine, tell Monroe I’ll be at breakfast.”

xxx

She re-examined herself in the mirror again once she had dressed, her blouse covered the marks on her wrist but did little to hide those on her neck, she thought about changing but decided to leave them for him to see, thinking it would help her get what she wanted.

She went down stairs and walked into the dining room, finding it empty but the door out to patio open, she hesitated before walking over, Monroe was seated outside at small table; breakfast lay out on a buffet table off to the side.

They were looking out over a small walled in garden, “You should come out here when you want, you have my permission.” His voice once again calm and controlled, nothing to even suggest he had lost control last time they were together, but he hadn’t looked at her yet, so when she joined him at the table, she saw his eyes darken at the sight of her neck, and the General facade fall away.

“Charlotte…” His voice seemed to be filled with genuine concern.

“Stop. I want to see my family,” she demanded, “I want to see Danny. I need to know that he’s okay.”

“You understand that if I were to do this, you wouldn’t be able to speak to him, he wouldn’t be able to even see you; he can’t know that you’re alive,” he replies all calm and control again, the facade firmly back in place.

She nods and he calls over one of the servants, writing a note he passes it to the servant, “Have this sent to Strausser.”

As soon as she had sat down he had seen the marks on her neck, his finger prints bruised onto her skin, the sight had for a moment turned him on, but then he felt the guilt of what they stood for crept up on him and he found himself agreeing to her demands.

He guessed that was why she had let him see the marks he had left on her, she was smart and she was beginning to learn how to play him; he thought about putting a stop to it, about sending her back to her rooms and denying her request to see her family but then he looked up and saw her face. She was smiling, granted it was a smile of pure self-righteousness that confirmed everything he had just thought but it was the first time he had ever seen her smile and god did he love the sight.


	5. Surprises

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I might have had too much wine to be posting this now but it’s been a while since my last update so here you go, let me know what you think.

Charlie had taken to spending most of her time out side on the patio and in the gardens since Monroe had given her permission; just to be able to see the sky undisturbed by a plain of glass was a blessing to her, she had not realised how much being able to feel a breeze on her face had meant to her, until it had been taken away. It made her feel grateful to Monroe to be let outside, but then she would be disgusted at herself for feeling that way when he was the one who took that freedom in the first place.

Since the incident they had spent most of the past few days in a mutual truce of silence, he left her alone most of the time and in return she would join him every evening for dinner, she would never question about when she was going to see her family and he would spend the evenings not making the small talk that irritated her so badly; they didn’t agree to it, it just worked out that way.

Tonight would had been no different except Monroe had sent would saying he would be unable to make it back in time for dinner, so Charlie had decided to eat alone out on the patio, the meal was as always exquisite and in the fading light servants had brought out lamps for her to read by.

This was where Monroe found her when he returned later that night, it was near the end of summer and so not yet cold enough to find the outdoors uncomfortable in the late evening and so she had decided against heading indoors. He stood against the doorway watching her for a moment, she looked so absorbed in her book he thought she hadn’t noticed him.

“Did you want something?” She asked without looking up. 

This was the first time she had spoken directly to him since asking to see her family, and while it wasn’t exactly friendly, it wasn’t malicious either.

“Charlotte, I see you are enjoying your freedom.” At the word freedom she finally stopped reading and looked up at him, and though she might not have sounded hateful the look she gave him certainly was.

When she didn’t reply he continued, “Would you care to join me for a drink?”

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to decline, my book is just too damn interesting.” Her voice was dripping with sarcasm, and she smirked as she went back to reading her book.

“I’m afraid I’m going to have to insist this time Charlotte,” he let a slip of authority into his tone, “I have something for you to see.”

Charlie placed the book down and sent Monroe a questioning look.

“Despite everything that has happened recently Charlotte, the rules remain the same, and you will continue to do as you’re told while you’re my guest.”

“You’re guest? I had to get permission to walk around the back yard,” She yelled back at him.

She had expected him to lose control and scream back at her about respect, in fact she had expected him to do anything other than sigh and head back inside.

“Fine,” she muttered before she stood and followed him. She knew this was what he wanted her to do but she had to admit she was intrigued to know what it was that he wanted her to see.

They went upstairs and through his office to his private study, it was the first time Charlie had been in the room and she took a moment to take it in. Much like the rest of the house the room seemed to contain its pre-blackout furnishings, most of which remained in rather good condition. The room itself was much more masculine than her own, the walls being a deep teal and the furnishings dark leather and wood, on the north wall there was an open set of double doors leading away to a darkened room, Charlie could only assume was Monroe’s bedroom.

She looked away from his room, suddenly feeling uncomfortable for being in his personal space and her eyes found Monroe pouring them drinks across the room.

“Sit Charlotte, we have a few moments,” He announced holding out a drink.

He seemed unaware of her discomfort, or at least unaffected by it. She took the drink and sat, intrigue and confusion keeping her from walking out.

“A few moments until what?” She queried, attempting to keep her tone neutral.

“Until your surprise.”

She didn’t respond but simply stared at him, her confusion growing, the man in front of her was clearly unstable, prone to violent outburst and mood swings, he kept her like his own private doll to look at, in short he really didn’t seem the type to give surprise gifts of any kind.

She had been beginning to remember him from before the blackout, just like with Miles it took time to realise she had known him before, to put the man she had known then, who had taken her out to for ice cream and carried her around on his shoulders, a man who she could clearly see giving her a surprise present, together with the man she saw in front of her now. Not for the first time she wondered what had happened to him to create the monster he now was.

In dawned on her in that moment that this surprise might be something she had asked for, she had been hoping for so long to see her family again that she had almost given up on it.

Monroe stood looking out one of the rooms windows, Charlie rose and joined him, for a moment she couldn’t see what he was looking at but then she spotted a figure sitting in the middle of the park across from Independence Hall under the light of a gas lamp. Guarded by two soldiers she watched her mother while she appeared to be waiting for something, or someone as it happened.

“Danny," she gasped.

Charlie continued to watch as Danny was taken over to their mother, Rachel hugged her son tightly for a few moments before they sat together.

Charlie looked over to Monroe, “They haven’t seen each other?”

“Your brother has been kept at a prison camp away from Philadelphia. It took some time to have him brought here.”

“Why?”

Monroe finished his drink and moved away to pour another as he spoke, “Miles has been persistence in his attempts to find your brother and free him, I’ve been moving him from camp to camp as a precaution against further attempts.”

“You mean he’s tried to free him before?” Charlie continued to watch her family as she questioned Monroe, her mother, who had always seemed so strong to Charlie appeared to be crying, though in the dark it was difficult to tell and for a moment she wondered if her mother had cried for her, if she cried for her now.

“He tried to free you both, as yet he is unaware of your supposed death, part of the reason I suspect he has not attempted to free your bother again is that he has been unable to find information as to your whereabouts.”

At that moment one of the guards’ moved to speak to Rachel and Danny was pulled to his feet and into the shadows before either was given a chance to say goodbye.

Charlie spun around to look at Monroe, “Please,” She begged, “Please, I need more time.”

Monroe hesitated before he spoke, “Charlotte, I think it’s time you went to bed.”

He turned and went to his own room, not waiting for her reply, he felt confused, he was giving in to easily to her; it might have started out as him simply wanting her, as him wanting to possess her, but it had become something more, she had got under his skin, not only did he want her but he wanted to see her happy, he wanted to please her, to see that beautiful smile grace her face again, he wanted to know her and for her to know him. He couldn’t remember the last time he felt this way, there hadn’t been anything more than sex for him in so long, he paused for a moment before closing his doors to his room.

“I’m sorry Charlotte,” he uttered, “about what happened the other day.”

Again he didn’t wait for her reply, but contiuned to close the doors, blocking out the look of shock on her face and the sight of the still visible bruises on her neck and arms.


	6. Rescue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thanks for all the comments, I’m sorry I’m not very good at replying to them but I do actually read them all. This chapter is a little different but I enjoyed writing it, so let me know what you think.

_“You know it's been said that we just don't recognize the significant moments of our lives while they're happening. We grow complacent with ideas, or things or people and we take them for granted and it's usually not until that thing is about to be taken away from you that you've realized how wrong you've been that you realized how much you need it, how much you love it.”_ – One Tree Hill 

Miles stared at the map in front of him once again, but he stared without really seeing. He was lost in his thoughts of Charlie and Danny, in his failure to rescue them, and in his lack of understanding.

Last time he and Nora had rushed in, no real planning, guns blazing; they hadn’t even found Charlie and Danny before they were discovered; they had been lucky to make it out with their lives, let alone having actually rescued anyone.

Miles demanded real planning after that, he wanted solid intel before they tried again.

But now it had been over two months; every lead on Danny was either too late or false, Bass was keeping him on the move but also appeared to have multiple decoys; he knew that Bass would have something against him but he didn’t understand why he was taking it out on Danny, he was just a kid, he didn’t understand why was it so important to keep him a prisoner.

Even more confusing was the lack of intel on Charlie; he had discovered soon enough that she wasn’t with Danny, but he couldn’t find any really information on where she was, in fact he couldn’t find anything on her at all; it was like she had simply vanished.

“Sir?”

Miles was pulled from his thoughts by the timid voice of a young rebel soldier. He, Nora and Aaron had joined with a group just outside of Philly after their disaster of a rescue attempt and were now living at a small, as of yet undiscovered, rebel camp about a day ride from the city. He and Aaron had basically joined the rebels in return for their help finding Charlie and Danny.

“Commander Ramsey wants to see you, says he just got some important intel.”

“What kind of intel?” He replied, his voice a little gruffer than normal.

The boy practically jumped out of his skin, sensing that Miles was in one of his moods, “He didn’t say sir,” he managed to get out, but he couldn’t hide the fear in his voice. Miles Matheson was as likely to half your rations or give you latrine duty as he was to praise you.

“Come on then kid, lead the way,” Miles replied chuckling to himself.

His reputation really did proceed him and he had a little too much fun messing with the younger soldiers. He imagined Charlie giving him one of her disapproving looks, so like her mothers, but she would have laughed all the same, "God damn it Charlie, where are you?" He whispered under his breath.

xxx

Across camp, Commander Ramsey sat down to a late lunch, he knew he wouldn't get a chance to do so again after this next meeting. Miles was going to demand immediate action and that would keep him busy till well after dark.

He hadn't even started when Miles came marching in, followed by a terrified looking recruit, "You can go," Ramsey said, waving the young boy away, "Sit down Miles, I'm not missing my lunch for you."

Miles sat and helped himself to an apple, President Foster was really pulling through on the food side of things, the rebels had never been so well feed, never been so well off on all fronts actually. Bass had been especially absent lately, spending more and more time at Independence Hall, letting his soldiers go wild, more and more conscription camps were popping up, and now helicopters were filling the skies and tanks taking over the streets, but instead of ending the rebellion as Miles knew Bass would have hoped, they were massacring hundreds of innocents and bringing most of the rest to the side of the rebels.

The rebellion had never been so strong and now with an alliance with the Georgia Federation it wouldn't be long before they took over the republic.

"I got some intel this morning… I've had it checked out… It looks like we might have an actual lead on Charlie." Ramsey said though mouthfuls of food.

Miles tried to keep his hopes down, this was not the first time they had thought they had something.

“Looks like Danny’s being moved to Philly as we speak.”

Miles sent Ramsey a questioning look, “Why?”

“We didn’t get specifics as to why, but we got a where.”

“You know where he’s going to be locked up?”

“Not exactly.” Ramsey continued, “We got wind of a meeting; tomorrow night, between Danny and someone called Prisoner M being kept at the power plant, their meeting in Philly, outside Independence Hall.”

“Charlie?” Miles whispered, letting a little hope seep in.

xxx

Getting in was the easy part, those who weren’t turning to the rebels were making their way to the capital, every day they tried to get the President to listen, every night they were pushed outside the city walls to a makeshift refugee camp; sneaking in amongst a group of refugees that morning was easy, hiding and not getting forced back outside that evening was harder, getting back out, that was going to be almost impossible.

But here they were, Miles, Nora and two other rebel soldiers, waiting in the shadows after having made their way separately into the city, watching for Charlie and Danny to appear.

Just as Miles had thought Bas was lax about security with in the city walls, so far only two patrols had made their way past the spot they had spent the last two hours hidden and neither patrol had been particularly dedicated to their job, making jokes and not focusing on spotting trouble.

If they timed it right, they would only have to deal with those soldiers directly guarding Charlie and Danny, and if they kept to the shadows and hid the bodies from view they would have a few hours before anyone noticed anything amiss, or so Miles hoped anyway. It was less of a plan that he had hoped to have had but this was the first time they really had a chance of finding Charlie again and Miles wasn't going to give up that.

Miles hopes rose just a little when he saw there shadows making their way across the park, he watched while they made their way to a bench beneath a gas light, directly across from Independence Hall. But as he watched the women sit, he knew she wasn’t Charlie; this women was older, her hair was blonde but it wasn’t the right shade, it was lighter and shorter, she was only a little taller than Charlie but she was curvier, softer.

At first he thought he was imaging her, “You see her?”

It was Nora who replied, “Not Charlie, you know her?”

“Rachel Matheson,” Miles answered, “Charlie’s mother, Ben’s wife, my sister-in-law and my guess the person behind Monroe’s resent attainment of power.” His voice had gone flat, empty, like all the emotion had been drained from his body, Charlie wasn’t here.

“Look,” Nora spoke, bringing Miles out of his thoughts, “Danny?”

Miles focused on the scene in front of him, “The plan remains the same; we get them both, wait till the meet is over and slip in and take them in the shadows. Nora, you and James get Danny, hide the bodies of the guards and we meet near the south wall in an hour, blow a hole and run like hell.”

Simply enough, easily done, and as long as no one raises the alarm they would be lost in the chaos of the refugee camp before anyone even got to the blast site.

xxx

Miles kept himself to the shadows as he and the rebel Rhyon crept towards an alleyway closer to the little gathering, Rachel was hugging Danny, she was crying; Miles couldn’t remember the last time he had seen her cry, it must have been before the blackout, before she broke the world.

He and Rhyon hid themselves down an alleyway while they waited for Rachel, so much of their plan relied on luck, on perfect timing and great guess work; they were hoping both parties would be taken back the way they came and so now they waited for Rachel would be escorted past.

His hopes were soon answered, and just after they made their way past, Miles and Rhyon slipped up behind the guards, each taking one and slitting their throats. Quiet and simple, so far so good.

He watched as Rachel took in what had just happened, as she registered who had just freed her, when she looked as though she was about to speak, Miles nodded his head towards the alleyway and dragged the body of the guard into the dark.

“Strip them of their weapons and put on his uniform.” He whispered to Rhyon as he stripped himself of his own clothes and put on those of the guard he had just killed.

Rachel stared at him defiantly, “Questions later, right now we need to get out of the city.” His voice was commanding, like the one of the general he used to be.

“Danny?”

“Danny’s fine, Nora’s getting him,” He finished up dressing himself and moved the guard’s body further into the alley, “Now come on.”

They made their way through the city largely uninhibited, those few they encountered accepted them as Rachel’s guards, one or two stopping to chat before Miles explained how important it was that they kept moving.

They arrived at the rondevu point and found Nora, James and Danny waiting for them.

“Danny where’s Charlie?”

But Danny didn’t answer, he just shook his head, it was Rachel who replied, “She’s dead. Bass killed her.”

After everything that had happened, after all the people he had killed and all the lives he had ruined Miles was not the most well put together of men, he was a functioning alcoholic at best and a full blown depressing drunk at worst. The one light in his life was Charlie, she had pulled him out of his darkest days, she made him face his past and begin to move on from it all; she had annoyed him, yelled at him, and had begun to make him a better person.

But now she was gone, and Miles felt his world slip away, after everything that had happened, after all he had done, it was this that broke him, it was her death that shattered his heart.


	7. Salvation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Might be heading in the direction of being super cheesy, but then again maybe it was always in danger of heading that way. Any way hope you enjoy.

It had been two days since Charlie had seen her family, she had awoken that night to a blast from somewhere in the city, and the next morning found herself once again locked in her room; she had banged on her doors for a good hour before they opened, but she was not let out. It was Beth bringing her food, and when Charlie had tried to speak with her, she had simply shook her head, the look of fear on her face stopped Charlie from pushing any further.

And so it had gone on, she was brought food, or water for a bath, once one of the guards brought her some art supplies, but no one spoke to her, and the look of anxiety and distress on their faces stopped her from insisting on it.

When she was finally let out, Charlie suspected that it was not because she was allowed but merely because everyone was so on edge they had forgotten to lock her door after she was brought lunch.

When she didn’t hear the lock click back into place she rose from the table and made her way over to try the door, it opened with ease to the shock of the guards.

Before they could stop her she bolted across the hall to Monroe’s office, marching in without knocking.

“What’s going on?” She demanded.

“I haven’t got time for this right now Charlotte.” He didn’t even look her way, just motioned for her guards to take her back to her room.

Unfortunately for him both guards were well aware of what had happened to the last guard who had touch the young women and neither was willing to forcefully drag her back to her rooms, they tried to persuade her but she simple ignored them.

Instead she choose to watch Monroe while he apparently lost his mind.

He was definitely in a mood, storming around his office, yelling about always being betrayed, Jeremy stood with two other soldiers looking on, his face was blank but the two others looked on with fear, the same look she had seen on the face of the servants for the past two days, apparently this had been going on for some time.

“This is your fault, you betrayed me,” Monroe suddenly calmed, looking at Jeremy his face took on a tranquil dark expression, “Admit it, you helped him. You helped him sneak into the city and take them.”

Charlie couldn’t take it anymore, “Stop acting like a good damn child who’s had his favourite toy taken away,” She yelled.

Monroe looked shocked to see her still standing in the room still, “Charlotte, you don’t have the right to talk to me like that.” 

“Why? Because you’ll kill me? You’ve certainly got your men shaking in their boots. Look at them, too scared to tell you that you’re acting like a crazy bastard. Has it ever occurred to you that this is your fault? That maybe you’re the one to blame.”

“Charlotte, you should leave.”

“What? Before you do something you’ll regret? Go ahead, I don’t care. I’m tired of being your prisoner, I’m tired of being your little thing to dress up and look at.”

She paused for a moment and they watched each other, she couldn’t read him but he saw in her look the same expression with which she had faced Strausser, open defiance, almost challenging as she stared him down.

“I might not know what is going on here but I know one thing, maybe if you were better at your job you wouldn’t have so many things going wrong around you, and ninety percent of the republic wouldn’t be happy to see you dead.” The anger that had been building up inside her fizzled out, and she watched Monroe take it what she said.

"Everyone get out," His face was blank, his voice even, like her words hadn't even fazed him, "Now," he yelled, giving the command with such authority even Charlie turned to leave with the rest of the group, "Not you," he ordered, "You can stay."

xxx

They both stood in silence while the others left, Charlie didn't fear for her life, she knew he wouldn't hurt her, not really, she knew how guilty he felt from the last time and he wouldn't risk her further hatred by hurting Danny, but she did wonder why he hadn't sent her to be locked up again.

He walked through to his study, where he grabbed the whisky bottle and took a few long swigs, collapsing onto the sofa.

When he was done, Charlie walked over and took the bottle from his hand, she moved to the bar and poured them both smalls drink, thinking that it wouldn't do to have him drunk in the mood he was in.

"You think I'm a monster?" He asked, she could hear the pain in his voice, see his mask slipping away, before her she saw for the first time the broken man he really was. 

But she refused to deny it, "You don't have to be?" was all she said, handing him his drink.

"I wasn't always this way,"

"I remember," he looked shocked at her words so she continued, "I remember you from before, you took me to get Ice Cream and you let me eat it in your car, I guess you didn't have any anger issues back then, because you found it funny when it got everywhere."

She smiled at the memory, and her eyes locked with Monroe’s sending a shiver down her spine; this wasn’t the first time, he was constantly watching her and it couldn’t be helped that her gaze would occasionally meet with his; she remembered the moment they had first met and they had stared each other down, his eyes intently watching her filled with wonderment and hers with insolence; but this was the first time his gaze had ever had an effect other than hatred.

She pushed away the thought and shifted her gaze, causing him to emerge from his thoughts, “I remember too, that was the year before I lost my family.”

“I didn’t know. I’m sorry.”

And she was, she could feel the pity welling inside her, mixing with her hatred of the man, dulling the anger she felt towards him.

“You were so young, I don’t think you ever really understood.”

She sat down across from him and tried to push away the compassion she was feeling, this was the man who was responsible for her father’s death, the man who made her family think she was dead and who was keeping her prisoner; this was not a man she should be feeling sorry for, not even if he had lost his family.

“I don’t know what I would have done without your uncle, he saved my life.”

But it was harder than she thought to keep herself in check, especially when he seemed to be being so honest with her.

“What happened?” she questioned, unable to hide her concern

At that moment he seemed to realise how venerable he had made himself and in a second his walls were up, his face free of emotion, “That’s none of your concern Charlotte.”

She quickly rose to her feet, “Well I can see your back to your normal charming self; I’m going to bed.”

“Wait,” He replied, “Did you mean what you said?”

“When?”

“That most of the republic wants me dead.”

“Have you even been out in your republic recently?”

He didn’t reply but his look said everything, she continued on before he could stop her, “You have no idea what it’s like out there, to be afraid to stray too far from your home because you could get killed or conscripted, to not have enough to eat because the militia put the tax up again, to feel powerless against your own leader. People don’t want more wars or land or power; and they don’t want you dead, they just want to keep their families alive and to live in peace.”

She stalked from the room, leaving him sitting there in his thoughts.

In the past two days Charlie was the only person who had managed to get through to him and make any sense. She had pulled him from his crazy, made him see for the first time in years just how insane he had been acting; she had been honest with him when no one else was and as he let her words sink in, he knew what he had to do. Bringing her into his life had been an act of an insane man, someone who took anything he wanted, but she had come to mean so much to him and he had been choosing to ignore it, to pull away, in that moment he decided to stop pulling away from her, he decided to let her become his salvation.


	8. Truce

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So after a couple of months of editing, rewriting and avoidance, I was still not happy with take one of this chapter; so a couple of days I scrapped it and started over; I tried a different aproach and incase it isn't clear this chapter is set over a period of two months, any way I hope you like it, let me know what you think.

Charlie walked into Monroe’s office, her head held high, after the events of the night before, she was pretty sure she knew what was coming, “You wanted to see me?”

“Yes,” Monroe looked up from the paperwork on his desk, meeting her eyes, “I wanted to talk to you about last night.”

He wasn’t going to hurt her, she knew that, but it had occurred to her after she had left him, that she was his prisoner here, he could make her life hell if he wanted to and after the way she went off at him last night, not once but twice, she had a feeling he would want to.

He was watching her, waiting for her to react, when she didn’t he continued, “You had some pretty strong opinions about what was wrong with the republic, what I’m wondering is if you have any ideas about how to fix it?”

That was not what she had been expecting, she was shocked and she knew it was plain to see on her face judging by Monroe’s smile, but she tried not to let it show in her voice, “You want my help?”

He smiled once more, “You seem surprised? After all that you said last night I would have thought this was what you wanted.”

“Ummm… I mean… Yeah,” She was stumped, she didn’t know what to say, but she decided honest was working pretty well for her so far, “I just didn’t think you would go for it.”

He laughed, he actually laughed, “Maybe you don’t know me as well as you think Charlotte.”

xxx

Nora made her way to the room Miles had commandeered at the back of the safe house, he had turned it into his own personal office, dedicated to finding Charlie; he had been on a war path determined to prove that she was still alive, that Bass hadn’t killed her; but that had been yesterday.

It had been less than a week since Miles had rescued Danny and Rachel from Philly, less than a week since he had reached out to his Militia contacts, intent on finding someone who could prove that Charlie wasn’t really dead; instead he had done the opposite; yesterday one of his contacts had got back to him, breaking the news that he had in fact been at the old power plant the day Charlie died, that he had been the one to bury a young girl matching her description, he had offered to his condolences and to take Miles to her grave; Miles had refused, just stalked off to find the nearest bottle.

Nora pushed open the door, Miles was passed out on a mattress at the back of the room, clothes covered in dirt, shoes still on; his office was a mess, papers scattered across the floor, an empty bottle next to the makeshift bed.

“Miles,” She called cautiously.

“Fuck off,” His voice didn’t hold any malicious, it was just empty, blank.

“I’ve brought you some food.”

He didn’t reply, just turned his head so he faced the wall and passed out again, Nora placed the plate of food on his now empty desk and left the room.

xxx

Monroe came flaunting through the patio doors and out to garden where Charlie sat reading, she looked up when his voice echoed across the shrubbery, “I thought you might like a drink.”

He held two glasses in one hand and a bottle of whiskey in the other, “What’s the occasion?” She questioned.

“Its official, as of today Conscription Boats are no longer operational and are being disbanded.”

She smiled, “And the kids?”

“Those who wish to stay with the Militia are being taken to appropriate training camps, the rest are being taken back to their families,” Monroe paused, for a moment his pride was replaced with a shamed expression, it gone almost the instant it appeared, “Those who have lost their families are being taken to suitable homes.”

So much had changed in the two weeks since she had scolded him, not only was he actively making an effort to fix the problems within the republic but he was showing remorse for his role in there creation; though he never really let her see it, she knew he was sorry for what he had done, for the pain he had caused not only her but everyone; he made it harder to hate him every day.

“Well I guess I’ll take that drink then.”

xxx

“Miles,” Rachel called out, but no reply came, she entered his room but found it empty, save for a few empty whiskey bottles and a makeshift bed in the corner.

“He’s gone to that bar again,” Rachel turned to look at Aaron, she could see the grief in his eyes, they were all mourning Charlie.

“When?” She questioned.

“Couple of hours ago, could barely keep himself together, wouldn’t be surprised if he passed out on the way.”

Rachel sighed, looks like they would be making their plans without Miles, once again; not that much was coming from their plans, the rebellion was losing support; Monroe had declared a ceasefire on all Rebel soldiers, refugees were being returned to their homes with support from the Militia to rebuild, she had even heard a rumour that the use of power was now being directed to building a hospital in the republic’s capital.

Every move they made now was becoming more like the act of terrorists, they needed Miles but Miles’ needed Charlie and Charlie was gone. Rachel pushed away the grief that welled up inside her once more, “Come on,” She called to Aaron as she stalked away.

xxx

Charlie and Monroe were eating alone, but in the months since she had first arrived they had become a lot less formal; they were in his private room, Charlie was sitting cross-legged on the floor, picking at her dinner as she read a book, Monroe was watching her, content to spend his evening in her company.

“I looked into what you said about the Generals over taxing,” He said, seemingly out of the blue.

She didn’t look up from her book as she replied, “And?”

“You already know you were right,” She looked up and smiled at him, her beautiful smile that he loved so much, “I knew some of them were skimming off the top out by the border towns but I no idea it had gotten so bad,” He continued.

“What are you going to do about it?” She questioned.

He got up to get himself a drink, “Arrest them for treason?”

“You should give them a public trial, run by a jury not you.”

“You think that’s a good idea?” He questioned.

“I think you’re so scared of losing control you haven’t noticed you barely have anything left to control.”

Monroe was silent, Charlie lost her nerve and busied herself in her book again, she didn’t see him smiled as he brought a drink over for her, “Now where did you learn a word like jury?”

“Aaron,” Charlie paused, “Actually you know him,” She continued, her voice a touch bitter.

“Really?”

She raised her head to look at him again, “He was arrested at the same time as I was.”

“Your friends were freed not long after you were brought here, I never meet him.”

He could see the shock on her face, he answered her unasked question, “Miles.”

She nodded, and Monroe took a deep breath, now was as good of time as any, “Actually there’s one more thing.”

“He got Danny back didn’t he? That’s why you went all weird a couple of months back?” She busied herself in her drink, she looked sad, broken, the same way she looked whenever they talked of her family, she mourned her own death along with her family, he could see how she missed them and how much she wished they knew she was alive.

He nodded, “And your mother.”

He could see her pain and it made him sick to think that he was the reason behind it all. He hated himself for what he had done to her and even more because he still knew he could never let her go.

She got up to leave, but he caught her wrist, she flinched, it was the first time he had touched her since the time he had almost forced her but she didn’t feel the same fear she had felt then; this was different, giving her butterflies and making her breath catch.

“I just need some time.” She whispered, hoping he didn’t notice the way her voice shock, the way her breathing had become uneasy at his touch.

He did. Monroe pulled his hand away in disgusted, thinking her discomfit came from her not wanting his touch, and the look of relief on her face when he let go only confirmed his thoughts.

“Charlie…”

She turned to look at him and he saw her eyes were filled with tears, “My families gone Bass. Which means Miles thinks I’m dead. There’s nobody looking for me now. You got what you wanted.” She turned and stormed from the room.

xxx

Nora walked out of the safe house and over to Rachel, she looked anxious, “You seen Miles?”

“Thought he was inside, sleeping off another bottle of whiskey?” Rachel replied.

“Never came back last night, he’s not at the bar either,” She couldn’t stop the worry seeping into her voice.

“Send someone to go have a look for him, I’m sure he just past out on the way home,” Rachel smiled and kept her voice even but Nora could tell she was just as concerned as she was, she smiled back and nodded, before walking off to look herself.

xxx

Charlie woke early the next morning, she hadn’t slept well, unable to get the image of Monroe telling her that her family was gone out of her head. He had looked worried, afraid, like the thought of her hating him again was unbearable, but she didn’t hate him; the thought came unwillingly to mind and she found it was true, she wanted to hate him, wanted to want to kill him; but she didn’t, she didn’t know how she felt about him.

She needed air. She rose from her bed and dressed quickly before making her way outside, waving at her guards to stay at her door. As she passed Monroe’s room she heard movement inside, thinking he was awake she made her way to his door. Before she got there the door opened, she abruptly stopped, instead of Monroe, it was a young blonde haired women, she was dressed in almost nothing, her tight black dress barely covering her ass, she looked well and truly dishevelled, and her smirk as she walked past Charlie left her with no illusions about what had just taken place.

She felt like all the air was gone from her lungs, she ran outside but found it no easier to breath, she felt cold like she was in shock, but she couldn’t be in shock, she knew what Monroe was like, she had even seen his whores before; but that had before, before she had stopped hating him, before she felt more for him than she knew was right, before she had fallen for him.

Her realisation hit her like a tonne of bricks and she sank to the ground; suddenly it all made sense to her, why his touch made her feel the way it did, why his lying hurt her instead of angered her, why she sort out his company instead of despising it and why instead of feeling nothing, the thought of him with that women made her feel sick to her stomach.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Did you like? Let me know :D

**Author's Note:**

> I just wanted to put a short note about this chapter, as a prologue it is short and essential a rewrite of the original scene, and though I know this should have been an easy write it was rather difficult for me. I think because I enjoyed the original scene so much and I didn't want to butch it, and though I could never recreate the intensity of that scene, I am happy with how my own turned out and I hope those who read it are to.
> 
> This is my first FanFic so I hope to hear what people think, I'll try to get up the first chapter sooner rather than later as I know this gives very little to the story.


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